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How is the estate of a man who died leaving no descendants or relatives except for his brother's daughters distributed?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the deceased has no heirs other than his wife and his brother's daughters, the estate is divided after settling his debts and executing his bequests as follows:

1. The wife: Inherits one-fourth (ar-rubu') as a fixed share (fard) due to the absence of a lineal descendant, based on the Almighty’s saying: {And for them is the fourth of what you leave if you do not have a child} (An-Nisa: 12). 2. The brother's daughters: They do not inherit when there are 'Asabat (agnate heirs) (even if distant) or 'Ashab al-Furood (sharers) (other than the spouses). If an 'Asaba exists, they take the remainder of the estate after the wife's share, and the brother's daughters receive nothing. However, if there are absolutely no 'Asabat and no 'Ashab al-Furood (other than the spouses), then the brother's daughters divide the remainder equally.

The matter of inheritances must be referred to the Sharia courts for precise investigation, as there might be other heirs or other rights (bequests, debts) that take precedence over the heirs' rights.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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